Coupons...is it embarassing?
I was working on my coupons on Sunday afternoon and my eldest daughter came downstairs and was chatting with me. She all of a sudden looked at me and said "you know, I would be happy to go to the grocery with you if you didnt use all those coupons". Ummmm...no, but it lead me to thinking.
Does couponing still have a negative connotation? I honestly expect it from my daughter, but what of other adults, your friends, your coworkers? Do they think you are "coupon crazy"? Or does it scream "We are broke?" I honestly wonder that if some people feel that it is a kind of status symbol because they dont have to use coupons?
Not that I am going to change MY ways, mind you, but I wonder if this is a reason why more people arent utilizing coupongs? A reader sent me an article a week ago and it was from the Wall Street Journal. Here is a snippet of the article:
"Average saving per coupon: just $1.44, according to the Inmar report.
But let's treat this low-finance topic for a moment the way we treat high finance. Let's subject it to the same math.
How long does it actually take to clip and use a coupon? Certainly the more you use, the less overall time you will spend per coupon, because so many of the costs -- getting fliers, sorting coupons and so on -- are generalized. Let's assume you spend a minute per coupon.
Saving $1.44 for a minute's effort is the equivalent of saving $14.40 for 10 minutes' work.
Hourly rate: $86.40."
** from Wall Street Journal**
Wow, so 86.40 an hour is a pretty good rate. Now do I think that is correct? Maybe. If you figure that I spend about 3 hours a week on my coupons. And I easily save over $249.20 at all 3 stores I go to a week and many times more. So essentially I am making over 86.40 an hour....SWEET! Unfortunately I cannot do much more than the 3 hours I am already doing, so I am not going to be a millionaire anytime soon. But still, it is nice to know that the hourse I spend doing the Q's is worth it...in a big way!
What are your thoughts on couponing?
Posts
4 comments:
hi amy :)
i know what you are talking about... i'm not sure what it is, maybe it is a status thing... an "i don't have the money to buy this so i have to clip coupons so i can afford it" kind of thing... for me it's not so much that i can't afford it (okay, maybe for some things...) but it's the fact that prices are incredibly ridiculous on lots of things in my opinion and coupons can make prices much more reasonable... coupons are put out for us to use and so we should use them!! i am self conscious as it is anyway, and i do find myself not wanting to pull out my coupon notebook because someone might think i'm crazy... but i don't care as much as i did when i first started. i am getting better.
i have a question for you, though... how do you find your deals? what is the order in which you search for deals? i would like to see a post about how you come up with ad matches from start to finish, looking at ads, looking at websites, looking at your coupons, figuring pricing, etc. i am trying to figure out a system for myself, and i'm just curious as to how others do it.
thank you for your posts!! :)
how about a youtube video of what Erin is suggesting Amy?!!
Yes, I feel bad for the cashier and the people behind me, but I have stopped looking at their expressions or sighing. I figure, oh well, your loss:) People are in such a rush anymore, that they don't want to be bothered by people 'like us.'
Others think what I do is neat, but too time consuming for them. It is a lot of time, but you make it what you want, get better at it as you go and stock up and eventually buy less.
I do very little work in the store (no coupon box with me, just list and coupons), so don't feel others staring at me
I don't feel embarrassed or poor...actually excited to see the total after coupons at the end!!! I know at the end of the day, I save my family money and make the dollar go farther...end of sentence!!!
you tube??? Ummmm I am not certain I want to be plastering my face on youtube. Hmmmm...good idea though. i will think about it, and see what I can come up with. Erin, I will figure out a way to show you how I do it. I am not certain yet how, but Ill figure it out. Maybe I should have a class??
And I agree with both of you by the way. I dont really care if they look, I do always apologize. i bring my binder with me cause who knows when I will find soemthing on clearance that I have a Q for. Other than that, my list is made up well in advance as well. I did ask my hubby and he said that he would be totally embarrassed to do what I do. Go figure???
amy--- if you had a class, i would so be there!! :)
Post a Comment